Lola Montez (musical)
| Lola Montez | |
|---|---|
 Original cast recording | |
| Music | Peter Stannard |
| Lyrics | Peter Benjamin |
| Book | Alan Burke |
| Productions | 1958 Melbourne 1958 Brisbane/Sydney |
Lola Montez is a 1958 Australian musical. It was written by Alan Burke, Peter Stannard, and Peter Benjamin and focuses on four days of Lola Montez visiting the Ballarat Goldfields.
Background
[edit]Stannard, Benjamin, and Burke were all friends from university who wanted to write a musical together. Alan Burke says he had never heard of Lola Montez until he heard her mentioned in a program on the ABC. He was attracted to the subject because it was Australian but had international appeal; he did not want to make something along the lines of On Our Selection. Also, since the lead was a performer, the songs would come naturally.[1]
Productions
[edit]Original production
[edit]Hugh Hunt of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust heard several auditions of the work and agreed to fund a trial production at the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne in early 1958. It was directed by John Sumner. The production was very popular.
Cast
[edit]- Justine Rettick as Lola
- Neil Fitzpatrick
- Glen Tomasetti
- Patricia Connoly
- Alan Hopgood
- George Ogilvie
- Robin Ramsay
- Jon Finlayson
- Monica Maughan.
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust production
[edit]The Trust took up their option and launched a new production. George Carden was brought in to direct.[2][3]
Alan Burke says his dream Lola was Vivien Leigh but that he wanted Moyra Fraser to star.[1] Hugh Hunt imported 25 year old Mary Preston from the United Kingdom to play the lead.[4] Burke said Preston was hopelessly miscast playing a 37 year old aging beauty.[1]
The show trialled in Brisbane for a short season. Michael Cole, playing Daniel, was sacked in Brisbane because of his voice. He was replaced by Eric Thornton, who Burke said was too old - a 45-year-old man playing a 19-year-old. The musical moved to Sydney, where it opened on 22 October 1958. Burke says it lost £30,000 and "was a show loved by very few people but it went into legend."[1] However the show did run for more than three months.[2][5] Michael Cole's single recording of "Saturday Girl" became a minor hit.[3]
Cole later appeared in the TV musical Pardon Miss Westcott which was commissioned from the writers of Lola Montez.[6]
Cast
[edit]- Mary Preston as Lola
- Frank Wilson as Sam
- Michael Cole, then Eric Thornton, as Daniel
The production and costumes were designed by Hermia Boyd. A retrospective celebration of the work was mounted in February 2018 at the Smorgon Family Plaza, Arts Centre Melbourne.[7]
1962 television play
[edit]Lola Montez was adapted for TV by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1962.[8]
Lola and the Highwayman
[edit]In 1965, the ABC presented a TV special called Lola and the Highwayman.
Revised edition
[edit]The musical has been much revived since in amateur and school productions.[9]
The musical was heavily revised in 1988 for a production in Canberra.[3][10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Alan Burke interviewed by Bill Stephens in the Esso Performing Arts collection". National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Alan Burke obituary at Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ a b c "Lola Montez the musical". Janus Entertainment.
- ^ "English star is "Lola Montez"". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 26, no. 21. Australia. 29 October 1958. p. 39. Retrieved 9 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Women's Letters". The Bulletin. 23 November 1960. p. 56.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (4 November 2020). "Forgotten TV Plays: Pardon Miss Wescott". Filmink.
- ^ Hermia Boyd & Lola Montez: Designing an Australian gold rush musical. Arts Centre Melboure, February 2018 [1]
- ^ 1962 TV adaptation at Ausstage
- ^ Lola Montez at David Spicer Productions
- ^ "Arts and entertainment Lola Montez inspired Australian musical". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 411. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 November 1988. p. 17. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Goldfield spirit in light, bright 'Lola'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 418. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 December 1988. p. 20. Retrieved 27 May 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
[edit]- Australian productions at Ausstage
- Lola Montez at AustLit
- Original theatre production at the Trust